Registrations to the 2024 - 2025 Online Advanced Studies Program are now open!
Register Now!
Information sessions (ZOOM meeting ID: 94578394448) will be held at
8:00 PM (US Eastern Time)
on July 21, July 28 (presented mainly in Chinese) and August 16, 2024 for the Fall Session (Session 1) of the Year Round programs and Fall Contest Prep program;
on November 15, 2024 for the Spring Session (Session 2) of the Year Round programs, Holiday and Winter Contest Prep programs.
(All contents on this program page are for reference only. We reserve the right to make changes.)
(All contents on this program page are for reference only. We reserve the right to make changes.)
Programs are intended for students in the 7th to 12th grades.
This is an online program.
This program has two sessions: Session 1 (Fall) and Session 2 (Spring). Session 2 is a continuation of Session 1.
Advanced Studies Program offers XC7, XC9, XC10 courses from our Accelerated Championship (XC) Series and MO1, MO2 courses from our Math Olympiad Studies (MO) Series. Accelerated Championship (XC) courses intend to improve top level young students' command of the core knowledge leading to higher studies in mathematics. Math Olympiad courses intend to guide top level young students' preparing for Math Olympiad contests.
From 2000 to 2022, the Phillips Exeter Academy Red Lion (PEARL) math club/team, under the supervision of IDEA MATH academic director Dr. Zuming Feng (joined by IDEA MATH staff member Ivan Borsenco more recently), has become a dominant force in US high school math contests.
During this period, students from PEARL have been USAMO winners more than 45 times and have won 27 IMO gold medals, 11 silver medals, and 8 bronze medals. Students from PEARL have diverse backgrounds, skillsets, and personalities. What do they have in common? Well, almost all of them have studied PEA Math Transition 3X (or 31X-40X-41X) and PEA Math 431-511-521. The materials in the Accelerated Championship (XC) Series build upon materials that Zuming has used for these PEA courses. Students will be surprised to discover that the school curriculum could be as challenging and as useful for preparing for higher-level contests (such as AMC12/AIME/ARML/HMMT/USAJMO/USAMO), if the right problems are posed, and more importantly, the school curriculum could and should be far more important, if learned with good depth and breadth. While math contests are not the main focus for these courses, these courses cultivate young talented math students’ vision on the flow of mathematics and the ability to reason and argue mathematically and rigorously. Therefore, students’ achievements in math contests tends to follow as a natural result.
The materials in the Math Olympiad Studies (MO) Series build upon materials that Zuming and Ivan have used for PEARL math club activities and the US Math Olympiad Summer Program (MOSP) entry level courses. We have incorporated our Contest Prep (CE) Series (CE 8/9/10) material into our Math Olympiad Program. The aim is to utilize these materials to enhance students' preparation for qualifying in the USAJMO and USAMO competitions.
Advanced Studies Program courses are offered via remote learning -- Zoom based LIVE classes. Each course consists of two parts: part 1 will be taught in the Session 1 (Fall session) and part 2 will be taught in the Session 2 (Spring session), and part 2 is a continuation (not a repetition) of part 1. In each session, there are 12 class days and each class day has a 2.5-hour class for a total of 30 class hours. Therefore, for each course, we have 2*12*2.5 = 60 total class hours---30 hours for part 1 in Session 1 and 30 hours for part 2 in Session 2.
Students are expected to allocate 1.5 hours for homework per meeting.
The tuition for the Accelerated Championship (XC) Program is $2090 = $1045*2 (to be paid in two payments: $1045 per session) for a total 60 in-class hours (30 in-class hours per session, unit rate is $34.83 per hour) of teaching and homework/test grading.
The tuition for the Math Olympiad Studies (MO) is $2390 = $1195*2 (to be paid in two payments: $1195 per session) for a total 60 in-class hours (30 in-class hours per session, unit rate is $39.83 per hour) of teaching and homework/test grading
IDEA MATH provides in-depth enrichment in important mathematical areas, particularly in the fields from which contest problems are drawn: algebra, combinatorics, geometry, and number theory. We believe students learn best by discovering, rather than simply memorizing, essential theorems and techniques. Our process puts students at the center of the classes, as students work together to develop their ideas. Our instructors lead this process by teaching vital ideas, giving meaningful examples, and guiding students through the problem-solving process.
We apply seminar-style teaching in our classes. Class sizes are small to ensure that students receive plenty of individual attention. Students are expected to work as a group and present their solutions and ideas to the class.
To protect students' privacy, we ask our students to:
For more details on our online class policy, please visit here.
The unique strengths of IDEA MATH can be summarized as follows:
For more details, please visit our FAQ page.
As always, we welcome parents' specific academic questions about our curriculum and teaching styles, as well as students' class-work and preparation. Please contact info@ideamath.org---make sure to include the following info in your email subject: student's full name, IDEA MATH ID, and intended program.
IDEA MATH provides an extensive curriculum. The course list shown below consists of projected courses we will offer in this program. Two of the major strengths of our program---a strong academic team and a full range of materials---allow us to create new courses/groups to meet the needs of the students body. Therefore, the course list (and course schedule) is subject to change based on actual enrollment and staff availability.
Please visit detailed curriculum grid for a more complete reference of IDEA MATH course curriculums.
| Courses* | Date** | Class Time** |
|---|---|---|
| XC7 | Friday | 7:00 pm - 9:30 pm (US Eastern Time) |
| XC9 | Friday | 7:00 pm - 9:30 pm (US Eastern Time) |
| XC10 | Friday | 7:00 pm - 9:30 pm (US Eastern Time) |
| MO1 | Sunday | 1:00 pm - 3:30 pm (US Eastern Time) |
| MO2 | Sunday | 4:00 pm - 6:30 pm (US Eastern Time) |
* Each course will only be offered when a minimum number of students have enrolled. Some courses might run multiple sections. To maintain the high standard of our students' learning experience, class sizes will remain small. In general, classes in PC0/PCA (and MCA, CWA) courses are capped by 16 students per class (more likely, 6-10 students per class), and classes in other courses are capped by 20 students per class (more likely, 6-12 students per class).
** All class times are in the US Eastern Time Zone. Each course will meet 24 times (two and half hours per meeting), 12 times in the Session 1 (Fall Session) and 12 times in Session 2 (Spring Session) for a total of 12*2.5*2 = 60 hours per course.
IDEA MATH provides an extensive curriculum. Our courses are intended for able students who wish to expand their mathematics knowledge beyond regular classroom settings. We emphasize study skills (such as taking notes, oral and written presentations, listening, observing, organization, etc).
In general, each applicant not recently enrolled (that is, who has not completed an IDEA MATH course this spring or summer) in our programs shall take a placement test in one of our open online/onsite placement test sessions. (For more details on our placement test/course placement process, please visit here.)
It is important for each applicant to input accurate, complete, detailed, and up-to-date academic background information(i.e., age, grade level, math courses taken, official contest scores, etc.) in the applicant's IDEA MATH student account. We review this information to make initial course placement/placement test level decisions. We will find the most appropriate course placement based on placement test work and general academic information in the student account. Please note that our academic team will make the final decision on your course placement based upon your academic background and your work in the placement test. (Further course placement adjustments can be made, by our academic team, based upon your class work.)
Placement test levels and dates are shown below. Please click this link to register for the placement test. The placement test fee is non-refundable and non-transferable.
| Test Level | Targeted Course |
|---|---|
| T1 | Extra Curricular Series: PC1 and PC2
Fall and Winter Contest Prep program: CE1/CE2 Holiday Contest Prep program: CW1/CW2 |
T2 | Extra Curricular Series: PCX and UC1 Fall and Winter Contest Prep program: CE3/CE4 Holiday Contest Prep program: CW3/CW4 |
T3 | Extra Curricular Series: UC2 and UC3 Fall and Winter Contest Prep program: CE5/CE6 Holiday Contest Prep program: CW5/CW6 |
T4 | XC Series: XC7, XC9, and XC10 MO Series MO1 Fall and Winter Contest Prep program: CE7/CE8 Holiday Contest Prep program: CW7/CW8 |
T5 | MO Series MO2 and MO3 Fall and Winter Contest Prep program: CE9/CE10 Holiday Contest Prep program: CW9/CW10 |
For each course, Session 1 covers the first part of a two-part course.
| Placement Test Date/Time* | Placement Test Location | Test fee paid by | Test Fee** |
| July 28, 2024 7:00 PM - 9:00 PM (US Eastern Time) |
Online | July 25, 2024 | $50 |
| August 11, 2024 7:00 PM - 9:00 PM (US Eastern Time) |
Online | August 8, 2024 | $75 |
| August 18, 2024 7:00 PM - 9:00 PM (US Eastern Time) |
Online | August 15, 2024 | $100 |
| Special Placement Test Session |
Online | contact info@ideamath.org for availability |
$150 |
For each course, Session 2 covers the second part of a two-part course.
| Placement Test Date/Time* | Placement Test Location | Test fee paid by | Test Fee** |
| November 17, 2024 7:00 PM - 9:00 PM (US Eastern Time) |
Online | November 13, 2024 | $75 |
| December 8, 2024 7:00 PM - 9:00 PM (US Eastern Time) |
Online | December 5, 2024 | $100 |
| Special Placement Test Session |
Online | contact info@ideamath.org for availability |
$150 |
*Each placement test is 90 minutes long. Students should arrive at the testing location (onsite or online) 10 minutes prior to the test. All test times are in the US Eastern Time Zone.
** The placement test fee is non-refundable and non-transferable; that is, it cannot be transferred from one applicant/student to another applicant/student, and it also cannot be transferred from a registered/chosen test session/date to another placement test session/date for the same applicant/student. Special test sessions (test fee of $150 or more) can be arranged depending on staffing availabilities. Please contact info@ideamath.org for inquires on special test sessions.
Note that registration is only the first step of towards enrollment. Enrollment (for each session) is completed only after the tuition is paid in full. The tuition payment is independent to student's course placement because the tuition is for the program, not for a specific course. The IDEA MATH staff will work with students on course placement by reviewing their academic backgrounds, assigning placement test levels, reviewing placement test work, and more. IDEA MATH staff make the final decision on students' course placements. (Please see our Course Placement Policy section for details.) All tuition refund for withdrawal will be processed based on the refund policy.
Please log in to your account to pay the tuition online.
For each course, Session 1 covers the first part of a two-part course.
| Courses* | Register by* | Tuition paid by | Tuition Amount |
| XC7, XC9, XC10 | August 15, 2024 | August 25, 2024 | $1045 |
| MO1, MO2 | August 15, 2024 | August 25, 2024 | $1195 |
* The tuition payments may be stopped earlier than the published date if the program has reached to its upper capacity.
** After the tuition payment deadline date, a late fee ($100) will be applied to the tuition and admission can only be given if space is available.
For each course, Session 2 covers the second part of a two-part course.
| Courses* | Register by* | Tuition paid by | Tuition Amount |
| XC7, XC9, XC10 | December 15, 2024 | January 2, 2025 | $1045 |
| MO1, MO2 | December 15, 2024 | January 2, 2025 | $1195 |
* The tuition payments may be stopped earlier than the published date if the program has reached to its upper capacity.
** After the tuition payment deadline date, a late fee ($100 or more) will be applied to the tuition and admission can only be given if space is available.
For the class schedule, please check the course schedule.
For each course, Session 2 covers the second part of a two-part course.
| Course | Time* | Dates* |
| XC7 | Friday 7:00 PM - 9:30 PM (US Eastern Time) |
Sept. 6, 13, 20, 27, Oct. 4, 18, 25, Nov. 1, 8, 15, Dec. 6, 13, 2024 |
| XC9 | Friday 7:00 PM - 9:30 PM (US Eastern Time) |
Sept. 6, 13, 20, 27, Oct. 4, 18, 25, Nov. 1, 8, 15, Dec. 6, 13, 2024 |
| XC10 | Friday 7:00 PM - 9:30 PM (US Eastern Time) |
Sept. 6, 13, 20, 27, Oct. 4, 18, 25, Nov. 1, 8, 15, Dec. 6, 13, 2024 |
| MO1 | Sunday 1:00 PM - 3:30 PM (US Eastern Time) |
Sept. 8, 15, 22, 29, Oct. 6, 20, 27, Nov. 3, 10, 17, Dec. 8, 15, 2024 |
| MO2 | Sunday 4:00 PM - 6:30 PM (US Eastern Time) |
Sept. 8, 15, 22, 29, Oct. 6, 20, 27, Nov. 3, 10, 17, Dec. 8, 15, 2024 |
** All class times are in the US Eastern Time Zone. In this session, each course will meet 12 times (two and half hours per meeting) for a total of 12*2.5 = 30 class hours.
For each course, Session 2 covers the second part of a two-part course.
| Course | Time* | Dates* |
| XC7 | Friday 7:00 PM - 9:30 PM (US Eastern Time) |
Jan. 10, 17, 24, 31, Feb. 7, 14, 28, March 7, 14, 28, Apr. 4, 11, 2025 |
| XC9 | Friday 7:00 PM - 9:30 PM (US Eastern Time) |
Jan. 10, 17, 24, 31, Feb. 7, 14, 28, March 7, 14, 28, Apr. 4, 11, 2025 |
| XC10 | Friday 7:00 PM - 9:30 PM (US Eastern Time) |
Jan. 10, 17, 24, 31, Feb. 7, 14, 28, March 7, 14, 28, Apr. 4, 11, 2025 |
| MO1 | Sunday 1:00 PM - 3:30 PM (US Eastern Time) |
Jan. 12, 19, 26, Feb. 2, 9, 16, March 2, 9, 16, 30, Apr. 6, 13, 2025 |
| MO2 | Sunday 4:00 PM - 6:30 PM (US Eastern Time) |
Jan. 12, 19, 26, Feb. 2, 9, 16, March 2, 9, 16, 30, Apr. 6, 13, 2025 |
** All class times are in the US Eastern Time Zone. In this session, each course will meet 12 times (two and half hours per meeting) for a total of 12*2.5 = 30 class hours.
| For Session 1 (Fall Session), Withdrawal Request Made in Writing | Refund Amount |
|---|---|
| Before September 1, 2024 | Paid Tuition - $150 |
| On or after September 1, 2024 | No refund |
| For Session 2 (Spring Session), Withdrawal Request Made in Writing | Refund Amount |
| Before January 5, 2025 | Paid Tuition - $150 |
| On or after January 5, 2025 | No refund |
Please note that only tuition is refundable per the above policy. Other fees (including, but not limited to, fees for the placement test, bus, lunch, application, etc.) are non-refundable and non-transferable.
Credit cannot be transferred between different type of programs---summer, year-round, contest edge, winter contest prep, etc.
For programs of a similar type (e.g., between summer programs), we will follow the withdrawal/refund policies posted on our website. For example, after tuition is submitted and before date X, we will apply the transfer in the following way (assuming space is available for the intended program): switching programs/series is considered a withdrawal from one program/series and an enrollment to another program/series, and any difference in tuition rates will apply.
To request a refund and withdraw your student, please send a complete request in writing to info@ideamath.org. You must include the payee name and mailing address matching the information in the student's account in order for your request to be deemed complete and submitted. Please include "Refund Request" and the student's name in the subject line. The amount of the refund will be based on the time that a complete request is submitted; incomplete requests will not be deemed to meet deadlines for withdrawal.
If a student is ill and chooses to withdraw from the program after the refund deadlines, we can offer prorated credits (paid tuition deducted by $300, then prorated per meeting) towards a future program. A note from a licensed physician is required. The doctor's note should clearly assert that the student's current medical status does not allow the student to complete the remainder of the program. The date when the doctor's note is submitted to IDEA MATH (via info@ideamath.org) is considered the initial date for the prorated refund (credit) calculation. The same policies apply if the IDEA MATH staff determine that the student must withdraw due to illness in order to protect the health and welfare of themselves or other students.
For all purposes related to this refund policy, a day shall be deemed to begin at 12:01am local time in the US Eastern Time Zone (US ET).
and more, to be updated soon.